Supported Formats Conversion and Metadata Storage

Supported Formats

• CBZ (.cbz): Standard ZIP archive containing image files (JPG, PNG, WEBP, GIF).
• CBR (.cbr): RAR archive containing image files.
• PDF (.pdf): Adobe Portable Document Format.

Automatic PDF & CBR Conversion to CBZ

In Settings → Server Settings:

• Convert PDF to CBZ: When enabled, the scanner invokes pdftoppm to extract PDF pages at native resolution and packages them into a lightweight .cbz archive.
• Convert CBR to CBZ: Uses unrar to extract proprietary RAR archives and repacks them into open .cbz archives for faster extraction and lower memory usage.

The 3 Metadata Storage Options

When saving metadata in Comics Now!, you can choose where tags reside:

1. Sidecar (.ComicInfo.xml) [Default]:
   • Creates an XML file alongside the comic: Spider-Man 001.ComicInfo.xml.
   • Pros: 100% non-destructive. Preserves original comic file checksums, modification dates, and read-only storage mounts.
2. Database-Only (db):
   • Stores metadata strictly in SQLite (comics.metadata).
   • Pros: Zero disk writes to your comic library. Perfect for read-only NAS mounts (:ro).
3. Archive Write-Back (archive):
   • Repacks ComicInfo.xml directly inside the .cbz archive using native zip tools.
   • Pros: Truly portable. If you copy the CBZ to a tablet or external reader, all metadata travels inside the file.